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The Outcomes of Copenhagen: The Negotiations and the Accord
This document evaluates the Copenhagen climate talks, including the status of the negotiations on the key issues under the formal negotiating tracks and the provisions of the Copenhagen Accord, and draws implications for the implementation of actions in developing countries.
Africa Adaptation Programme: An insight into AAP and Country project Profiles
The Africa Adaptation Programme (AAP) has been designed to support the long-term efforts of targeted countries to further develop their capability to successfully identify, design and implement holistic adaptation and disaster risk reduction programmes that are aligned with national development priorities. This report provides insight into the Africa Adaptation Programme (AAP) and its related country project profiles. The AAP has shifted into implementation, with Namibia and Tunisia as the first countries to complete national inception workshops. Eighteen out of the total twenty programme countries will complete national inception processes and start full-fledged implementation in the coming months.
UNEP in China: Building Back Better
This booklet describes the cleanup and redevelopment effort in the aftermath of the Sichuan earthquake in 2008. A sustainable building design was included, which minimizes energy needs for cooling, heating, and lighting, is earthquake resistant, results in zero waste at the construction site, and is made with recycled materials.
CCCC Kick the Habit: A UN Guide to Climate Neutrality
This book describes the importance of climate neutrality in order to reduce the impact of global warming. Climate neutrality requires reduction in emissions of greenhouse gases, such as carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide, and others.
GEO Year Book 2004/5: An Overview of Our Changing Environment
This publication discusses global environmental efforts, successes, and setbacks of 2004.
GEO Year Book 2006: An Overview of Our Changing Environment
This publication describes major global environmental issues and policy decisions during 2006.
GEO Year Book 2007: An Overview of Our Changing Environment
This publication is an overview of major global environmental issues and policy decisions during the course of 2007.
Our Planet, May 2010
Magazine of the United Nations Environment Programme discussing worldwide environmental policies and other concerns. This issue is devoted to the economic importance of biodiversity and how protecting or restoring habitats can significantly reduce the costs in a variety of industries and infrastructures.
Renewables 2010: Global Status Report
This report describes economic trends in building the capacity of renewable energy in several countries.
Roadmap to Sustainable Government Buildings
This document encourages governments to use LEED certifications in the construction of government buildings, and to promote LEED buildings in their jurisdictions. The document provides advice on how to promote and administer such projects.
Ting and the Possible Futures
This is a children's book where the characters build a time machine that lets them visit alternate futures based on the decisions they make in the present. The story provides a glimpse of a post-apocalyptic dystopia as a result of severe global climate change, as well as a future utopian ideal that comes as a result of implementing massive changes to land use and food and energy production.
How Healthy is the Upper Trinity River?: Biological and Water Quality Perspectives
This conference report contains discussions and papers from a symposium hosted at Texas Christian University, in Fort Worth, Texas, examining the ecological health of the Upper Trinity River, and the impacts of various human activity, such as agriculture, urbanization, and waste management. The papers cover the effect of water quality on urban rivers, long-term water quality trends in the Trinity River, solutions that may improve water quality in the river, as well as biological, agricultural and waste-water issues.
U.S. Climate Action Report 2010
The Fifth U.S. Climate Action Report presents a detailed outline of the actions the U.S. is taking to address climate change, contains updated projections on U.S. greenhouse gas emissions, and underscores the United States commitment to address climate change.
Regional Highlights from Global Climate Change Impacts in the United States
This fact sheet draws information from the Global Climate Change Impacts in the United States report that describes how climate change affects coastal areas in the United States.
Ecoregion: Desert Arid
This brochure describes the effects of climate change in the desert and arid regions of the United States.
Climate Change Impacts on the United States: The Potential Consequences of Climate Variability and Change
This assessment examines how global climate climate change affects the United States, and describes strategies for adaptation.
Ecoregion: Caribbean
This document is part of a set of educational resources for educators to encourage climate literacy.
Climate Change, Wildlife and Wildlands: A Toolkit for Formal and Informal Educators
This is a lesson plan for grade levels 5-8 that guides educators through a lesson about coral reef ecology and how climate change affects the growth of coral reefs.
Sea Surface Temperature and Coral Bleaching: Activities
This lesson plan provides educators with a lesson plan for grades 5-8 about coral reefs.
Regional Highlights from Global Climate Change Impacts in the United States
This fact sheet describes climate change scenarios in the Great Plains region of the United States.
Grenelle Environnement
The new 'Grenelle II' laws are presented in the French Parliament. The Grenelle II (2010) follows the Grenelle I (2007) and a second public consultation round with representatives of large companies. Detailed plans are presented for building, transport and energy sector. Local authorities are asked to play a more important and facilitating role. The new law package contains six pillars and contains the 'outlines' and 'logistics' of the application on regional and local level: - 1. Improving the Energetic Performance of Buildings. Among the measures are : insisting on 'Batiments a Basse Consommation' (BBC, < 50 KW/H/m2 per year) for new buildings and to reduce the consumption of existing buildings by 38% untill 2020. - 2. Creating a change in Transport Use. Among the measures presented are : speeding up the process of public transport infrastructure, insisting local public authorities on offering 'lease-bikes' and car-sharing programs, and subvention of electric and hybrid car development. - 3. Reducing significantly Energy Consumption and Carbon Emissions. Measurements foreseen are : Obligation of all enterprises with over 500 employees and municipalities with more than 500.000 inhabitants to calculate CO2 emissions on a yearly bases. -4. Preserving Biodiversity. Pharmaceutical and hospital products will be more restricted and reported. -5. Risks, health and waste. Various measurements are proposed, such as the Protection of Electrical and Telephone Network workers. -6. A new Ecological Governance Model. Introduction of Five 'Colleges' of Stakeholders: ONG, Entreprises, Unions, Public Authorities and Public Administration. Regions with over 50 000 inhabitants will be obliged to create a Sustainable Development report. Each product should carry CO2 emission information, related to the CO2 emissions created by transport of people and goods.
The Impacts and Costs of Climate Change
The effects of global climate change from greenhouse gas emissions (GHGs) are diverse and potentially very large, and probably constitute the most serious long-term environmental issue currently facing the world. This paper is prepared as task 1 of the project 'Modelling support for Future Actions - Benefits and Cost of Climate Change Policies and Measures', ENV.C.2/2004/0088, led by K.U.Leuven, Katholieke Universiteit Leuven. The paper provides a rapid review and analysis of the impacts and economic costs from climate change. The objective is to provide estimates of the benefits of climate change policy, i.e. from avoided impacts, for support to the Commission in considering the benefits and costs of mitigation efforts, and to support DG Environment in its report to the Spring Council 2005 and in future international negotiations on climate change.
Analysis of options to move beyond 20% greenhouse gas emission reductions and assessing the risk of carbon leakage
This paper responds to the mandate given in the Emissions Trading Directive (EU ETS directive, Article 10b) to the Commission to submit by end of June 2010 an analytical report assessing the situation of energy-intensive sectors that have been determined to be exposed to significant risks of carbon leakage in the light of the international negotiations.
Analysis of options to move beyond 20% greenhouse gas emission reductions and assessing the risk of carbon leakage
This paper analyze the possible effects of implementing all high end pledges put forward by countries under the Copenhagen Accord. Among other analysis, the report predict that, (if the Copenhagen Accord would be fully implemented), the world could bridge a major part of the required efforts by 2020 in order to keep average global temperature increase below 2ºC. However, the report also argue that most high end targets are conditional on others taking similar action, on a legally binding international agreement or on the need for further international financial or technical support making their degree of implementation uncertain.
Regional Highlights from Global Climate Change Impacts in the United States
This fact sheet draws highlights for Alaska from the Global Climate Change Impacts in the United States.
Weather and Climate Extremes in a Changing Climate : Frequently Asked Questions
This brochure corresponds with the Weather and Climate Extremes in a Changing Climate Synthesis and Assessment Report by the U.S. Climate Change Science Program. It highlights observed changes and likely projections in North American weather, and how changes in North American weather are likely to have an adverse economic effect.
Regional Highlights from Global Climate Change Impacts in the United States
This fact sheet describes climate change scenarios in Great Plains region of the United States.
State of the Climate in 2009
This report describes observations of precipitation, temperature, and other climatology metrics from different global regions.
Regional Highlights from Global Climate Change Impacts in the United States
This fact sheet describes climate change scenarios for islands of the United States.
Kyoto Protocol Target Achievement Plan
Content of this document includes the basic direction of promotion of global warming countermeasures, the targets for control and removal of GHG, and the Japan's measures and policies to achieve the targets.
IPCC Expert Meeting On Industrial Technology Development, Transfer And Diffusion
This meeting summary report presents the major findings and discussion from the IPCC Expert Meeting on "Industrial Technology Development, Transfer and Diffusion."
Kyoto Protocol Implementation
This report analyze the impacts of linking JI and CDM to the future European Emission Allowance Trading System (ETSy). The result indicate that the volume of credits obtained through JI and CDM projects by the enlarged EU Emission Allowance Trading Scheme, as well as the magnitude of cost savings and allowance price impacts will crucially depend on how much competition there will be from EU Member States and other countries in JI and CDM credits.
Report of the Joint IPCC WG II & III Expert meeting on the integration of Adaptation, Mitigation and Sustainable Development into the 4th IPCC Assessment Report
This report summarizes a meeting to develop the 4th IPCC Assessment Report. The meeting was attended by international experts in adaptation, mitigation and/or sustainable development.
Climate and Airborne Pollutants
This brochure provides an overview of how air pollutants have an impact on climate change.
U.S. Climate Change Science Program Synthesis and Assessment Report 3.4: Abrupt Climate Change Summary and Findings
This brochure identifies four types of abrupt climate change that would pose major risks to global health, security, and the economy.
Establishing the Leakage Rates of Mobile Air Conditioners
The purpose of the study is to - based on field measurements - determine the average annual leakage rate of HFC-134a from MACs in the European Union of a "second generation"1 air conditioner. From November 2002, to January 2003 300 measurements of HFC-134a leakage were carried out on air conditioners of cars up to seven years age. The measurements were carried out on vehicles of all EU relevant makes at 19 garages in Germany (Osnabrück), Portugal (Rio Maior) and Sweden (Helsingborg) reflecting different climatic conditions.
Allocation and Related Issues for Post-2012 Phases of the EU ETS
This report provides information on major design options related to the allocation of emissions allowances under the European Union Emissions Trading Scheme (the EU ETS, or "the Scheme"). The report was developed to assist the European Commission in the context of the review of options for the EU ETS after 2012, during the third and subsequent phases of the Scheme. The report covers topics related to allocation alternatives as well as several other issues. All of the material contained here was developed initially as a set of briefing notes for the Commission in 2007. The topics covered in the report are divided into two major categories: (1) assessment criteria and other general features, including cap-setting; and (2) allocation alternatives and issues specifically related to allocation.
The Economic Effects of EU-Wide Industry-Level Emission Trading to Reduce Greenhouse Gases: Results from PRIMES Energy Systems Model
In preparation of the Green Paper on greenhouse gas emissions trading within the European Union, the cost implications of EU-wide emissions trading carbon dioxide were estimated by E3-Lab with their PRIMES energy systems model. According to the report, if each EU member States implemented its target under the Burden sharing agreement individually, the total annual cost for the EU to reach the Kyoto target would be 9.0 billion Pound.
Reanalysis and Attribution: Understanding How and Why Recent Climate Has Varied and Changed
This brochure discusses climate change, and scientific methods of making climate observations.
The Ozone Layer: Ozone Depletion, Recovery in a Changing Climate, and the "World Avoided"
This brochure describes the role of ozone in the stratosphere, and the effect it has on ultraviolet light, as well as how the Montreal Protocol and subsequent laws have affected ozone-depleting pollutants in the atmosphere.
Climate Models: Frequently Asked Questions about computer climate models and their uses, strengths and limitations
This brochure describes methods and technologies for assessing and predicting climate change.
IPCC Expert Meeting on Emission Scenarios
This report summarizes the Expert Meeting on Emission Scenarios to help inform the fourth Assessment Report of the IPCC.
Human Health and Welfare and Climate Change: Summary and Findings of the U.S. Climate Change Science Program
This brochure summarizes a report of the same title. It describes the likely impacts of climate change on human health, and potential adaptation strategies to limit the risks and damages.
Water Resources and Climate Prediction: Linking Science with Decisions
This brochure summarizes research that focuses on the scientific ability to predict climate on seasonal and year-to-year timescales and the opportunity to incorporate such information into water resource management decisions.
Findings of the U.S. Climate Change Science Program Synthesis and Assessment Report 2.2: The First State of the Carbon Cycle Report: North American Carbon Budget and Implications for the Global Carbon Cycle
This brochure describes sources of carbon emissions in North America, and ways to remove those emissions from the atmosphere.
Low Carbon Technology Plan
The document describes Japan's strategy for transforming into a low carbon society, through the promotion of alternative energy sources and energy efficient technologies.
Regional Highlights from Global Climate Change Impacts in the United States
This fact sheet describes climate change scenarios in Midwest region of the United States.
State of the Climate in 2008
This report describes observations of precipitation, temperature, and other climatology metrics from different global regions.
Towards an Analytical Capacity in Costing of Abatement Options for Forestry and Agricultural Carbon Sinks
This document is part of Technical Report (ref: EUR 21758 EN) from the Joint Research Centre and presents part of the modelling work conducted by DG JRC/IPTS as a contribution to the DG ENV Communication on post-2012 climate policy analysis (June 2005). The analysis with the POLES and GEM-E3 models show that the costs of abatement policies, both in marginal terms and total terms, can be significantly reduced if emissions trading and project based mechanisms are used.
Towards New Scenarios for Analysis of Emissions, Climate Change, Impacts, and Response Strategies
This report summarizes the findings and recommendations from the Expert Meeting on New Scenarios, which focuses on the policymaking perspective of climate change, and on climate modeling scenarios for near term and long term.
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